Keystone flicks: Movies that were made or take place in Pennsylvania

(WJET/WFXP) – Plenty of movies take place in Pennsylvania.

On its own, that fact is not that interesting. Pennsylvania is a big state, and one of the oldest. It makes sense that there would be a lot of movies about Pennsylvania.

The most interesting thing might be the variety of movies that take place in Pennsylvania.

From sports stories to musical comedies to heartfelt dramas, there have been plenty of stories told about the great state of Pennsylvania. Here are just a few.

Rocky

Rocky is the story of Rocky Balboa, played by Sylvester Stallone. He’s a boxer who ends up receiving a chance at the boxing championship as a gimmick. The champion, Apollo Creed, needs an opponent who’s interesting but not great, and Rocky ends up being chosen.

Rocky takes place in Philadelphia. If there’s one fact about the movie that most people know, it’s probably that. A lot of the movie was filmed in Philly, like Rocky’s apartment and his trainer Mickey’s gym. The Spectrum Arena and the Philadelphia Museum of Art also feature in the movie.

That Thing You Do!

In That Thing You Do!, a band from Erie called The Wonders becomes famous for their hit song, called, yes, “That Thing You Do!” Throughout the movie, they play at talent shows, pizza places, and eventually on national television.

The movie starts out in Erie, but unfortunately, the movie was not filmed here. Orange, CA, was used for Erie.

There are also scenes that take place in Pittsburgh, but it does not appear that the scenes were filmed there, unlike the next movie.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Another movie featuring Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, takes place a couple of hours south of Erie, in Pittsburgh. Tom Hanks plays Fred Rogers and Matthew Rhys plays Lloyd Vogel, a journalist who writes a story about Mr. Rogers.

Interestingly, not only were the Pittsburgh scenes filmed in the Pittsburgh area, but the New York City scenes were, too.

Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day is the story of Phil Connors, a reporter who has to cover, you guessed it, Groundhog Day in the small town of Punxsutawney, about two-and-a-half hours southeast of Erie. He’s not a nice person, and he gets stuck in a time loop where he keeps reliving Groundhog Day over and over again.

Groundhog Day was not filmed in Punxsutawney. It was mostly filmed in Woodstock, Illinois.

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These are just some of the many movies that take place in Pennsylvania. If you want horror, there’s Night of the Living Dead. If you want a romantic comedy-drama, you’ve got Silver Linings Playbook. If you want a courtroom drama that takes place in Philadelphia, then you’ve got, well, Philadelphia.

Next time you watch a movie, take a moment to consider where it takes place and whether or not it was actually filmed there.